Interesting comment from Pete today - that the way they looked at trading for Harvin was "moving up in the draft for the best WR".

As I suspected, I thought WR would be the #1 priority on their board, and this seems to support that idea. In essence, we used our #1 pick on Harvin who they evaluated as a better option than any of the WRs who might have been on the board at #25.

I still think DE/DT/OLB is high priority as well, but as I cautioned many times in the last few weeks...don't be surprised if they target a play maker first and foremost.

Also, I don't think this precludes potentially going after another WR or even a TE in the draft, although I'd be shocked if they did that in round 2 now.

Hmm, I'm not seeing that from that transcript. Pete said Harvin would be a top tier player in the draft, nothing really about WR being number 1 priority. The fact is, they felt acquiring Percy with the 25th pick is a much better value than whatever DL or any other position that would be available at 25.

Right now during the Harvin press conference, Schneider actually just said acquiring Harvin had nothing to do with this years WR draft crop. The way he said it made me think he still really likes the WR in this years draft. I think we still draft a WR this year

GREEDY PUNK PAUL ALLEN, THIS LOSS IS ON YOU."I don't give a crap WHAT you gotta pay, Kam is worth it and I don't want to lose a shot at another SB cuz you - a freaking BILLIONAIRE, are cheapskating Kam over a freaking $900,000.You cheapskate." SalishHawkFan SEP 13, 2015 1:47 PM

Hawkfan77 wrote:Hmm, I'm not seeing that from that transcript. Pete said Harvin would be a top tier player in the draft, nothing really about WR being number 1 priority. The fact is, they felt acquiring Percy with the 25th pick is a much better value than whatever DL or any other position that would be available at 25.

Right now during the Harvin press conference, Schneider actually just said acquiring Harvin had nothing to do with this years WR draft crop. The way he said it made me think he still really likes the WR in this years draft. I think we still draft a WR this year

Really?

PK: If i'm sitting in your spot, I'm thinking it's like moving up and you saw Harvin as the best receiver and you had to move up to get him. I look at it like a bargain for you.

PC: We looked at it like that. We looked at what would be available and thought Harvin was the top tier player.

Pretty clear to me.

And why would they give up the #25 pick if that WASN'T the priority? Wouldn't make any sense...

And I'm not surprised Schneider said that -- because I also think we will be drafting a WR still, even relatively early. This also kind of points to a DE/DT target in free agency, which also fits with the interest in Abraham. We'll see how that plays out.

Pete is on the record and saying the pass rush was the priority this off season.

He never said receiver was the priority in the draft. He and Schneider actually commented that they do their home work to see who might be available via trade. And that they saw Harvin with the #25 pick as fantastic value. This was an opportunistic move to get a player familiar with Carroll and Bevell. This was more about trading for Harvin, not a positional need.

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:Pete is on the record and saying the pass rush was the priority this off season.

He never said receiver was the priority in the draft. He and Schneider actually commented that they do their home work to see who might be available via trade. And that they saw Harvin with the #25 pick as fantastic value. This was an opportunistic move to get a player familiar with Carroll and Bevell. This was more about trading for Harvin, not a positional need.

Conversely, they haven't said pass rush was the priority in the draft either. Pass rushers could be the target in free agency.

And I didn't say Pete said it. It's inference and reading the tea leaves.

Boiled down to the bone - our #25 pick in this draft is Harvin. That tells me they feel he is better than any other player they thought was going to be available in the draft (obviously). If you stretch that line of thinking out even further, it tells me they were looking to get a play maker at #25.

Just my take on it. Pete's response is key, here - "we looked at it like that".

For starters, there aren't any similarly talented pass rushers available via trade. They've gone after a player they know about and have history with. It doesn't say anything about the draft plans.

And Pete has talked about the pass rush related to the draft. He was asked at the combine.

Perhaps. I do believe that they feel Harvin > any WR that would have available at #25. That's obvious.

It's not a surprise that Pete would talk about the need for a pass rush, because everyone knows we need it. Where it gets interesting for me is...they gave up that #1 pick for a WR. There is obviously more to the story, specifically with whom they are targeting and where in the draft they think they can get him. Or ... the DT and DE priority are free agents. The philosophy has been debated a lot on this board - do you grab the vets or take another draft pick and hope he is an instant impact guy when the team is knocking on the Super Bowl door?

And I'd argue that it does indeed show that the weren't excited about pass rushers available at #25. They wouldn't have given up that pick for a WR if that was the case.

Your logic is flawed. Better value with the draft pick does not equal #1 priority. You're extrapolating what you believed to be true (and have harped on for most of the season) over the top of the statement. Pete and John did the calculations and decided they could grab a 'top 10' pick with the #25+, that's all. There's nothing else to read into it.

Listened to both John Schneider's interviews on the radio today 950 and 710. I don't remember which one it was on but I specifically remember him saying that They were not looking hard for a WR but this was basically too good of a deal not to do. He then said something to the fact that #25 + a 7th and next years 3rd would have got the to #20 and when they graded Harvin he was much higher than that pick so it was easy to justify.

Sarlacc83 wrote:Your logic is flawed. Better value with the draft pick does not equal #1 priority. You're extrapolating what you believed to be true (and have harped on for most of the season) over the top of the statement. Pete and John did the calculations and decided they could grab a 'top 10' pick with the #25+, that's all. There's nothing else to read into it.

I guess...but who knows. I see it differently, that's all.

...and me thinks all the ones who were so 100% sure that our #25 pick would be a DT/DE are just butt hurt and unable to admit there were other options.

I don't care what the priority was i just know that this pick has the potential to change the way this team is viewed for years to come we might be debo'n tom Brady around in the playoffs for the rest of his career. What we got is a wildcard for any situation on offense teams can no longer play us the way they used to Beast mode could be seeing alot more room to work with in the box especially in three WR sets(Rice,Tate,Harvin).

Hawkfan77 wrote:Hmm, I'm not seeing that from that transcript. Pete said Harvin would be a top tier player in the draft, nothing really about WR being number 1 priority. The fact is, they felt acquiring Percy with the 25th pick is a much better value than whatever DL or any other position that would be available at 25.

Right now during the Harvin press conference, Schneider actually just said acquiring Harvin had nothing to do with this years WR draft crop. The way he said it made me think he still really likes the WR in this years draft. I think we still draft a WR this year

Really?

PK: If i'm sitting in your spot, I'm thinking it's like moving up and you saw Harvin as the best receiver and you had to move up to get him. I look at it like a bargain for you.

PC: We looked at it like that. We looked at what would be available and thought Harvin was the top tier player.

Pretty clear to me.

And why would they give up the #25 pick if that WASN'T the priority? Wouldn't make any sense...

And I'm not surprised Schneider said that -- because I also think we will be drafting a WR still, even relatively early. This also kind of points to a DE/DT target in free agency, which also fits with the interest in Abraham. We'll see how that plays out.

Huh, you obviously didn't read my post, because the questions you asked and the examples you used were already discussed by my post...

Where does PETE say anything about WR being the number 1 priority? He said they viewed Harvin as a top tier PLAYER not just WR. They viewed Harvin as the best player (REGARDLESS of position) they could get with pick 25, the decision was pretty much made.

No one is saying WR was never a priority, just that it wasn't the #1 priority. If you can get a better player at WR than either DL position at 25, you go get the best player, who happens to play WR. That doesn't mean they value WR more, just that the best player didn't line up with their ultimate needs. Reaching for players of perceived needs based on the position that player plays gets teams into trouble. Pete and John will not be boxed into drafting based on position. They felt Harvin makes us better than any other player that could have been available at 25. I agree with them

GREEDY PUNK PAUL ALLEN, THIS LOSS IS ON YOU."I don't give a crap WHAT you gotta pay, Kam is worth it and I don't want to lose a shot at another SB cuz you - a freaking BILLIONAIRE, are cheapskating Kam over a freaking $900,000.You cheapskate." SalishHawkFan SEP 13, 2015 1:47 PM

I think this may also speak to how they are feeling about Bruce Irvin and Jaye Howard at Leo and 3-tech, respectively. Perhaps we aren't pressing hard to fill these holes in free agency because they aren't that big of an issue?

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SmokinHawk wrote:I think this may also speak to how they are feeling about Bruce Irvin and Jaye Howard at Leo and 3-tech, respectively. Perhaps we aren't pressing hard to fill these holes in free agency because they aren't that big of an issue?

I thought a big time playmaking WR was a priority and Harvin and Wilson are going to take this Offense to a level weve never seen before here in Seattle. As far as Pete and John i think Harvins talent vs the 25th pick trumped everything. WR was a need though there's no doubt about it.

General Manager wrote:I thought a big time playmaking WR was a priority and Harvin and Wilson are going to take this Offense to a level weve never seen before here in Seattle. As far as Pete and John i think Harvins talent vs the 25th pick trumped everything. WR was a need though there's no doubt about it.

Here is my take (which is already supported by a lot of excellent observations in this thread):

WR was not the top priority. Pass rush was. WR might have gone as late as the 3rd round in the draft if Seattle found a DT and DE they liked enough in round 1 and 2.

That said, I've written for a while now that the prototypical John Schneider WR is a guy with quickness, speed, and YAC ability, with Golden Tate being the best example. Who is the undisputed quickest, best YAC WR in the NFL? Percy Harvin. Who spurned USC when Pete called him the best player in America? Percy Harvin.

I think ever since it became clear that Harvin would be traded the Seahawks have built their entire offseason around acquiring him. The term "mancrush" is probably an undersell. Not only that, but Harvin's skillset fit perfectly with Seattle's needs. They needed an upgrade in the slot, they needed more speed on offense, they needed a successor to Leon Washington, and they are always looking to add more weapons in the running game.

So no, WR was not the top priority- until Harvin became available and HARVIN, not the position he plays at, became the new top priority.